LAAD 2017: AEL Sistemas Shows off its WAD and HMD Systems for Brazil's New Gripen Fighters

(Source: Forecast International; issued April 20, 2017)

RIO DE JANEIRO --- At LAAD this year, Brazilian Elbit Group subsidiary, AEL Sistemas presented some of its new systems that will be installed on Brazil's new Gripen fighter aircraft. Saab chose AEL Sistemas from among a variety of bidding competitors to supply the Brazilian Air Force's Gripens with a Wide Area Display (WAD), Heads-Up Display (HUD), and Helmet Mounted Display (HMD).

Joao Vilela, a retired pilot from the Brazilian Air Force and an employee of AEL Sistemas for the past five years was on hand to discuss the technologies after helping to develop them. He said, "When we talk about WAD, we are not looking at a miraculous screen, but it allows us to receive the information in a way that we better understand it, which is through methods we already know, like those of smart phones."

The interface is therefore easily interpretable by a pilot, who has an intuitive understanding of the methods behind its operation.

The WAD screen can be divided to receive information through several simultaneous means, including mixing real world input with virtual signals - useful for training exercises. It allows you to divide a single screen in two, enlarge images, obtain satellite views, and maps.

Meanwhile the HMD incorporates positional sensors and small cameras that allow the system to know where the pilot and co-pilot are looking. The point of view of each pilot appears on the screen with a different symbol, one a cross and the other a circle when both coincide. "The agility gained in everyday situations is incredible," says Vilela.